Printed in the Herald-Times, July 26, 2012

To the editor:

It was a dark day for America when the Supreme Court upheld ObamaCare. "Justice" Roberts re-wrote ObamaCare, declaring that the individual mandate is a tax, even though President Obama and his defenders had always argued it was not a tax. The dissent points this out as follows:

"The Court today decides to save a statute Congress did not write. It rules that what the statute declares to be a requirement with a penalty is instead an option subject to a tax."

"Justice" Roberts, in an effort to preserve the reputation of the court by not wading into the political debates surrounding ObamaCare, instead tarnished the reputation of the court by literally writing legislation from the bench. It was a shameful and cowardly move.

Finally, mandating that insurance companies must cover preexisting conditions demonstrates that Obama does not understand what insurance is - a collective pooling of premiums to guard against future costs.

Mandating that insurance companies cover preexisting conditions is no different from allowing people to buy automobile insurance while their car is on fire. This policy means health insurance is no longer insurance. It is government mandated redistribution of wealth. If that's what Obama wants, be honest about it.